ICU senate rejects budget over flaws

PESHAWAR: Taking strong exception to the flawed budget making based on misleading statistics, the senate of the historic Islamia College University rejected the institution’s budget for academic year 2022-23 and formed a committee to rationalise the budget and present it within three months.

The senate’s meeting was held on Saturday, with pro-chancellor of the university and minister for higher education Kamran Khan Bangash in chair. The members of the august forum expressed serious concern over the submission of incorrect statistics in the budget.

The participants of the meeting were also concerned about the approval of the wrong statistics from the finance and planning committee and the university syndicate.

The participants of the meeting said the presentation of wrong statistics was a bid to mislead the university’s senate, which is the top most forum of the institution.

The senate rejected the budgetary statement and formed a committee to rationalise it. The committee would be composed of representatives of the Higher Education Department, provincial finance department, Higher Education Commission and the chancellor’s office.

The senate also took account of the alleged irregularities in recruitments in the university and barred the university administration from making further appointments except those of urgent nature.

The forum directed the university administration to properly and transparently utilise its resources.

Speaking on the occasion, Kamran Bangash said that the matter of misleading the senate through wrong budgetary documents on part of the vice-chancellor of the historic university would be brought into the notice of the governor/chancellor of the university and chief minister of the province.

He said the university administration played an irresponsible role by submitting wrong statistics. No planning was made at all for budget making, he said.

He said that Islamia college was not only a historic institution but an asset of the province. He said that the budgetary statement of the historic institution was very pathetic among all the public sector universities.

The university’s deficit budget with a total outlay of Rs1 billion is really painful and disappointing, the minister said.

Vice-chancellor of the university Prof Dr Gul Majeed Khan did not respond to The News, when efforts were made to take his version on the issue.